I want to ask about the "Portal Guardian". I believe that I have seen this being in my dreams as a child. From the age of 5 or 6 until about 10, a being that I didn't have a name for came into my dreams regularly and wreaked havoc on my psyche. These dreams were the most terrifying experiences I've had in my life, even now. Even the traumatic experiences that came shortly thereafter the worst of the dreams paled in comparison to what this being made me feel. For years I didn't know what to make of the experiences. They were the experiences that led me to work with spirit guides. Eventually, I just concluded that the being must've brought those experiences into my life to prepare me for the things I had yet to experience. For that I was grateful to the being. In its own way, it was protecting me. I decided I wanted to thank the being for what it had done for me, but I never got the chance. It stopped coming to me. Until I read the article here on shaman initiation, I didn't even know what to call it.

Now I know that I am not a shaman. There are a number of corollaries between my experiences and the ones listed as criteria in the article. The Portal Guardian, childhood paranormal experiences, etc. But a very important experience is missing. Although I work with a number of spirit guides, some of which have put me through some tough experiences, I've never had a near death experience like the ones described in the article. So I don't know what to make of my childhood dreams, or my experiences with the being that came to me.

So my question is: why would someone who is not a shaman have experiences of the portal guardian?